Mom, passers-by thwart man from grabbing baby

By Ma Yue |
September 2, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition

Beijing police are investigating an attempted baby-snatching case.

A man was waiting at a bus stop in Chaoyang District around 6:30pm last Friday when a mother walked past with a stroller. He suddenly ran over and tried to snatch the 5-month-old infant from the stroller but was stopped by the baby’s mother and passersby, Beijing Times reported yesterday.

The man was in his 50s and looked as though he was drunk, according to witnesses. He raised the stroller cover and tried to grab the baby boy, but the mother reacted immediately to protect her child while also crying out to others for help.

A few passersby soon pushed the man away, the report said. The baby was not harmed, but the mother sustained scratches on her arms and the stroller was also damaged, the newspaper said.

The man fled the scene before police arrived as everyone was focused on making sure the baby was fine.

Police were cited as saying the man had been seen behaving weirdly — he had tried to steal stockings sold along the street — before the snatch attempt.

They added the case is still under investigation.

Capital police also denied reports, carried by a local paper, that two similar baby-snatching cases occurred in the same area last year.